MBPT Spotlight: How Hispanics Are Powering Word of Mouth

By By Roberto Ruiz, executive VP of Univision's Strategy and Insights

A 2014 study conducted by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) found that word of mouth marketing drives 13% of consumer sales and amplifies the effect of paid media by 15%. But what exactly is word of mouth?

Word of mouth, or WOM, is any form of talking about a brand; whether that's conversations that take place online, in-person, over the phone or via text.

These consumer "conversations" have proven to be essential to a brand's overall consumer performance. Even more interesting, is the fact that Hispanic consumers in particular, are leaders in brand WOM conversations.

According to the Keller Fay Group, there are 2.3 billion brand impressions everyday via WOM in the U.S. — 21% of that comes from Hispanics and, of that 21%, nearly half are from Hispanic millennials ages 18 to 34. This is significant considering Hispanics only make up 17% of the population.

Research also shows that Hispanics are talking about 20 more brands per week than non-Hispanics (NH). When you dig a little deeper into the research, you will also find that Spanish-dominant and Univision viewers are also talking about more brands per week than non-Hispanics – as much as 30-40 brands – and Hispanic millennials are engaging in nearly 20% more WOM than their non-Hispanic millennial counterparts.

And it's across categories, too. Hispanics over-index in all of the 15 categories that Keller Fay tracks, from financial services (+29% more than NH) to personal care (+41% more than NH) to health (+14% more than NH) and more.

So now that we know all of this, how do you drive word of mouth marketing?The first key element is advertising to the talkers. It's important to target those who are most engaged in conversations about your brand so that they can share that information with others, therefore influencing buyers.

For instance, brands with paid media campaigns have a greater opportunity to drive word of mouth, especially among the Hispanic community.

Hispanics talk about ads 34% more than non-Hispanics across TV, digital andmobile. Plus, Spanish dominant Hispanics talk about advertising close to 60% more than non-Hispanics. This tells us that language plays a key role when planning your strategy.

The next key is making your creative messaging contagious. Make sure that the message you're communicating isn't intended to solely attract the consumer's attention but that it's also content consumers will want to share with others.

The last piece of insight is to reach people when they're in a social setting and be sure to place your message within sharable content and events.

Think about things people like talking about and what they like to watch among friends and family. For example, an award show performance, like the one by Ricky Martin in this year's Premios Juventud, or the upcoming CONCACAF match between USA and Mexico.

These are all talk worthy events that will help to increase your chances of fueling the WOM fire, especially among Hispanics.